San Jose cat show features purr-fect purebred kitties

Retired San Jose teacher Sally Andersons cat Tigger won a dozen ribbons from different judges at his very
first cat show. The six-month-old Abyssinian won first place, best of color and best of the breed. Anderson, 71,
says Tigger is a dog lovers cat, who will fetch, jump on your lap and sleep in your bed.

A surprisingly calm chocolate-spotted mammal -- named Wild Rain Priceless -- one of more than 170 purebred felines competing for bragging rights at a show in San Jose. If you think your mom or Aunt Gertrude adores cats, you ain't seen nothin' til you go to one of these shows.

But how do you get a hairless cat called Rip Van Wrinkle ready? I mean, there's nothing to comb.

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You give him a bath, then put him in a little blue coat. Not so he stays warm. So he stays clean. And like any beauty contestant, you also protect his delicate skin from the sun.

Really.

"He's one of my four-legged children," said DeeDee Cantley, Rip's mom. With at least one advantage over the real thing: Even in his teens, this ''living hot water bottle" with warm skin will never get tired of snuggling.

Cantley, who drove her baby up from Los Angeles County, used to be a dog person.

Well, a Chihuahua person.

Then she got one cat. Now she has "a few," but like nearly everyone else, declined to be specific.

"It just kind of snowballed," she said, adding she's also a certified cat judge and hangs out with other contestants' parents.

As the storied history of the hairless Sphynx breed attests, it's no small thing to get the Cat Fanciers Association to accept a breed. Suffice it to say, the Sphynx went through a lot of genetic engineering to make it hairless. Now, the first two Chinese Li Huas (pronounced Lee Wahs) have arrived in the United States from Beijing seeking the association's acceptance, so the breed can compete.

One of the golden-brown cats -- named "China" for some reason -- was a hit at the show. The cat is renowned for its intelligence -- though apparently China's no whiz at picking up languages.

"He understands no English," volunteered Joann White of Palm Springs, China's "co-owner" with someone in Beijing. "He's only been here two weeks."

Showing cats can be expensive.

"Fifteen (thousand) to $20,000 a year," said Tim Bruce of Las Vegas. He and his wife breed and show Siberians, the national cat of Russia.

Of course, they sell Siberians for $600 to $2,000 apiece.

There's no prize money for the winners, just blue and green ribbons for such arcane categories as long-haired champions, short-haired champions, long-haired premiers (spayed or neutered), short-haired premiers, long- and short-haired kittens. Then there's boning, coat, profile and something about 200 points being necessary to achieve grand champion status.

The only way to earn points is to go to the shows. In Phillip Pearson's case, that meant he and his Turkish angoras went to about 49 shows last year -- or nearly one a week. The San Diego owner of hair salons isn't complaining.

"This came along at the right time for me 11 years ago," he said. "It gave me something to do besides go and party."

Eleven-year-old Kaitlyn Dieck of Saratoga attended the show only to window-shop. But it was clear she'd found her tribe.